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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26026495">We Don't Need 'Em (Do We?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Soulmate/pseuds/Sarcastic_Soulmate'>Sarcastic_Soulmate</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Parks and Recreation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Angst, Break Up Talk, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, F/F, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Break Up</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:33:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,049</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26026495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Soulmate/pseuds/Sarcastic_Soulmate</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leslie and Ann reflect on their breakups. Somewhere around Season 4, when Leslie and Ben are broken up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leslie Knope/Ann Perkins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We Don't Need 'Em (Do We?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceMayWrite/gifts">AliceMayWrite</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes, I realize I have issues.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leslie downs another shot as Ann watches, a sleepy look on her face due to her drunken stupor.</p>
<p>"Ugh, this sucks."</p>
<p>"It does." Ann agrees.</p>
<p>"But it'll get better, right?" She asks.</p>
<p>"I think so."</p>
<p>"Well," Leslie says, "Then I do too, because you're a beautiful, magnificent, amazing monarch butterfly and I trust your judgement."</p>
<p>"Even while drunk?"</p>
<p>"Especially then," Leslie replies and goes off into a fit of laughter, Ann quickly joining her until an older woman a few yards away turns and glares at them.</p>
<p>"You know what? Screw Ben! Screw Chris! We don't need them!" Ann says, shifting in her bar seat to order more shots of whiskey from the bartender.</p>
<p> "Yeah!" Leslie said, taking the shot as it was passed to her. </p>
<p> "I miss him though, he was so cute! He's still-" Leslie hiccups, "Still cute and it hurts." </p>
<p> The night has taken an unexpectedly sad turn. Ann stares inside her shot glass. "Yeah, Chris was pretty cute too. Or hot. I was never able to decide." She smiles, a wistful one. </p>
<p> "We don't need them... do we?" Leslie asks, unsure. </p>
<p> "No.. but they were fun to have." Ann says, avoiding eye contact. This night was supposed to be fun, it was supposed to take their minds off of their loneliness. So much for that now. </p>
<p> "Ann, we're not alone, we have each other!" Leslie hiccups again, looking at Ann lovingly. Ann's eyes widened, just realizing that she had said that out loud. </p>
<p>Leslie missed Ben a lot, but sometimes, sometimes, on a really stressful night, her mind wandered to Ann, to the memories and she would smile, finally smile again. And especially on a night like this, when they're intoxicated, not just by the alcohol, but by the purity of Ann, a glow about her, so clearly in her element when they're spending time together. If only... </p>
<p>Wait. Did she just think that? It had to be the shots. Or was it? She had had thoughts about this before in other circumstances, but she could never admit to herself that she felt something. Something indescribable, yet so perfect. </p>
<p>No, she's not going to do this to herself. Ann didn't like her. Did she? No, she's not pursuing this, she is not going to ruin her friendship with some feelings that were not reciprocated. </p>
<p> "Leslie?" </p>
<p> "What- Huh? What?" </p>
<p> "Must've spaced out for a second," Ann chuckles. "The whiskey, probably." </p>
<p> "Yeah," Leslie muses, "The whiskey." </p>
<p> "You okay?" </p>
<p> "Perfect. I'm going to go to the... the... bath- whizz palace. The whizz palace? You know what that is? I'm going to go... there." Leslie dashes to the bathroom, dizzy from her stupor. Or maybe it's just the overwhelming realizations crashing down on her. </p>
<p>// </p>
<p>Leslie cleans her face and reapplies her makeup, feeling a little better already. She just realized she had some feelings for Ann, and then there's Ben and their jobs and everything, and it's too much. It's too much. </p>
<p>A young brunette opens the stall door nearby, and watches Leslie's stressed-out expression. "Bad date?" </p>
<p> "Not exactly." Leslie nervously chuckles. </p>
<p> // </p>
<p>Ann is still at her bar seat wondering why Leslie is taking so long in the bathroom. Should she go check on her? Eh, it hasn't been that long, a few more minutes and she'll see. Besides, Leslie's always been able to take care of herself. Ann loved that about her.</p>
<p>Her mind wanders to Chris and how their relationship didn't work out. How her relationships with Andy and Mark didn't work out. There was always something missing. Never with Leslie though, but they were just friends. </p>
<p>Ann sighs. Leslie will never seem to pick up on her feelings. On the off chance that Leslie returned her feelings, what would be next? They didn't have some big obstacles such as their jobs dividing them, which somehow made it more scary. The fact that there wasn't a hurdle they would have to jump over made it so there was no excuse for waiting this out too long. It was just fear at this point.</p>
<p>Ann remembers she and Leslie's biggest fight. She accused Leslie of making excuses not to act on her feelings; who was she to start doing that and using their friendship as an excuse? Besides, if it did work out, it could be truly amazing.</p>
<p>But what if it didn't? Again, she didn't find it likely that Leslie felt this way too. She sighs again, looking up to see Leslie approaching her, sitting down beside her. </p>
<p> "You alright?" Leslie asked, feeling better from cleaning up a little bit.</p>
<p> "Yep. Amazing." She raises her shot glass, tilts her head back, and gulps it down quickly. </p>
<p>Leslie's eyes widen in alarm, but it quickly changes to a nervous smile.</p>
<p>// </p>
<p>The night goes on. They keep taking shot after shot, finally stopping to continue the conversation. </p>
<p> "The thing about guys," Ann incoherently slurs, "is that it always ends badly with them." </p>
<p>Leslie, a little less drunk than her, exhaustedly agrees. </p>
<p> "But wait... can't it end badly for girls too?" She hiccups. Why does she keep doing that? She shakes her head, wincing at the headache building up. </p>
<p>That seems to bother Ann for whatever reason, so she drops the subject. Seriously, this night was happy, sad, briefly happy again, then sad again, and the sad seems to be prevailing. It's not fair. </p>
<p>It's not fair that she can't date guys with cute butts and awesome faces because of her job and it's not fair that she can't admit her feelings for Ann because there's too much at stake. </p>
<p>It's not fair that things that are supposed to be happy turn out sad because there's too much going on, and it's not fair that she's so lonely while surrounded by so many people.</p>
<p> "We don't need 'em." Ann states, letting out a small burp that makes Leslie giggle. It warms her heart. </p>
<p> "No, we don't." Leslie agrees, her eyes flitting down to Ann's lips, before turning away and staring at the floor. </p>
<p> "You know, I'm over here thinking Chris was a nice guy, but I didn't even realize it when he broke up with me. He did it so nicely. I mean, who does that?" Ann groans. </p>
<p> "I know, I think mine with Ben was the nicest I've ever gotten. And it somehow hurt the most. I mean, a guy got down on one knee, just to beg me to get out of his life. There was skywriting, I got cheated on so many times, but that one... stings so much." </p>
<p> "I know, right? Suck-some-sometimes," Ann said, internally celebrating from finally getting the word right, "Sometimes the nice thing to do isn't always the best thing to do." </p>
<p> "Yeah! Because we can't even be mad about it, cause they were so nice. They're too nice, I don't like it." Leslie whispers. </p>
<p> "You think anything is nice with your track record." Ann quips. </p>
<p> Leslie's face falls. </p>
<p> "I'm sorry! Bad joke, it's been a rough few months." Ann said, grimacing. She tries to make a joke, and hurts her best friend in the process. Stupid, stupid, stupid! </p>
<p> Leslie's lips curl into a hesitant smile. "Don't worry about it. And yeah, it has. The breakup keeps replaying in my mind, and... I don't know what to do about it." Leslie pauses, as if she's about to say something but stopping herself. </p>
<p> "Is there something else?" Ann narrows her eyes in concern for Leslie. </p>
<p> "Yeah." Leslie says, that hesitant expression back on her face. </p>
<p> "You can tell me." </p>
<p> Leslie seems convinced, but there's still something in her eyes, an unreadable expression, and it terrifies her. Ann likes to think she can read Leslie like a book, so any time she goes off-script, everyone should be worried. </p>
<p> "Okay, well... I miss Ben like crazy, but, I've been having these... feelings for someone else. I don't think they return these feelings, and they definitely don't know about them, and I think a normal person would tell me to either go for it or get over it, but I can't seem to do either." </p>
<p> "Is it someone at work?" </p>
<p> "No. Well, yes, she works there, but that's not how we met." </p>
<p> "Oh? Well, how did you meet?" </p>
<p> "She came into a public forum 4 years ago and asked me to get a pit filled in. Such a weird way to meet, but it started the most wonderful thing I could ever ask for." Leslie says, the whiskey making her mind go a mile a minute. Wait... a public forum? 4 years ago? Shit, she just admitted her feelings. </p>
<p> Ann's face contorted into a shy smile. "Well, why don't you talk to her? Maybe she feels the same way."</p>
<p> Wait, what? What's happening? Is this for realskies? "I don't know." </p>
<p> "I wouldn't be too sure. There's a lot of surprises in this world." Ann counters. </p>
<p> "Can we stop this now? We both know it's you." </p>
<p> Ann laughs. "Have it your way. Talk to me, mama." </p>
<p>Leslie cackles, and Ann giggles, forgetting their conversation for a split second, but then their faces slowly turn serious. </p>
<p> "Ann... I really... like you. I didn't even realize I did until a little while ago, but I think I've felt it for a long time. I understand it if you say no, because we're d-drunk and I'm trying to get over a breakup, but these feelings are real, and, I don't want to damage our friendship, but I don't think they're going to go away anytime soon-</p>
<p>She's interrupted by the feel of Ann's lips on hers, and all of her thoughts stop entirely. </p>
<p>Her kiss is soft and tentative and it takes Leslie by surprise, but she quickly returns it, the passion and enthusiasm increasing by the second. Ann's arms wind around Leslie's waist, and Leslie's go around hers. </p>
<p>She feels like it lasted for hours, or even days, but it still wasn't long enough as Ann pulled away to look into Leslie's eyes. </p>
<p>Leslie smiles at Ann and pulls her closer to kiss her again. This time, there was no surprise or hesitation, and that made it all the more perfect. </p>
<p>// </p>
<p>Leslie wakes up in a bed that is not her own, her head pounding like crazy. She opens and closes her eyes a few times, wanting the dizziness to go away. She looks to her left. She and Ann's arms are wrapped around each other in a loving embrace, and Leslie finally recognizes her surroundings. Ann's bedroom. </p>
<p>She tries to slowly lift her body away from Ann's grasp and wakes her up in the process. </p>
<p> "Leslie?" </p>
<p> "Hey, Ann." </p>
<p>Ann smiles at Leslie and sits up. "Do you want to get breakfast? My head is killing me."</p>
<p> "By breakfast, do you mean JJ's?" </p>
<p> "What else?" She grins.</p>
<p>// </p>
<p> "Do you want to talk about what happened?" They say simultaneously and giggle. </p>
<p> Ann spaces out for a moment. What if Leslie regrets it? She certainly doesn't, but they were both drunk. Maybe Leslie would change her mind if she got a little too much into her own head, like Ann is doing right now. </p>
<p> "Hello? Earth to Ann?" </p>
<p> "Oh! Sorry Leslie, were you saying something?" </p>
<p> "Nothing important. I was going to throw my spoon at you if you didn't answer." Leslie takes a bite of her waffle and holds in a satisfied moan. </p>
<p>Ann chuckles. "You don't... regret it, do you?" </p>
<p> Leslie's head whips up faster than a speeding bullet. "You do?" She says, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. </p>
<p> "No, do you?" </p>
<p> "Of course not!" </p>
<p> "Oh, thank god." Ann breathes a sigh of relief. </p>
<p> "Why would you think that?" Leslie laughs. </p>
<p> "I don't know, we were both really drunk, I guess it didn't seem inconceivable that you would change your mind." </p>
<p> "Well, I didn't, and I'm glad. I like where this is going." </p>
<p> "Me too. Wait, are we dating now or what?" </p>
<p> "Do you not want to? 'Cause I do." </p>
<p> "Good. I do too." </p>
<p> "This might be weird to say, but I don't care about Ben or Chris or anyone's potential opinion about us anymore, I only care about you." </p>
<p> Ann couldn't stop herself from moving to Leslie's side of the booth and kissing her again. </p>
<p>"We really don't need 'em, do we?" Leslie asks. </p>
<p> Ann laughs. "No, we don't."</p>
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